1006:
261:
three Verne novels in little over a year, enabling
Sampson Low to come out with new Verne books for the Christmas trade in 1872 and 1873. Mercier's shaky grasp of contemporary French idioms and limited knowledge of his era's science and technology led him into many foolish translating errors. He has also been criticized by British and American scholars for his stilted prose and for the many cuts and omitted details that blemish his translations. In view of his desperate financial situation it has been conjectured that the deletions could have been dictated by his editors at Sampson Low; however no hard evidence has been found to support this surmise. It is equally likely that he worked fast simply to get paid fast.
592:
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205:. In 1861 we find him living at the school at age 41, head of a family of 9 children (ages 1,2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 14, 15), numerous servants and 25 pupils. Relieved of his position by the Governing Board in 1861, he then became Chaplain at the Chapel of the Foundling Hospital, then one of the most important charitable institutions in England.
246:, the wealthiest landowner in England, at the rate of 12% per annum. (Lord Leigh had appointed him Provincial Grand Chaplain to the Freemasons, Warwickshire in 1852.) By 1870, in ill health and unable to repay his debt when it came due, he was forced to seek extra funds by offering to perform translating tasks for the publishers
260:
As a translator of Verne's newly popular fiction, Mercier offered one advantage to
Sampson Low: speed. A linguist of sorts, conversant with older French dialects, possibly fluent in multiple languages, he worked in his spare time with his assistant Eleanor Elizabeth King (1838 — ??) to translate
188:
where he was
Assistant Minister of St. Andrew's Episcopal Chapel, 2nd master of the Glasgow College School, and Chaplain to the Garrison. While in Glasgow he was admitted to membership in the Glasgow Philosophical Society (15 November 1843). From Glasgow he moved on to be 2nd Master at a new school
454:
We note that only for the last book, 1874 (after his dismissal), does he use his real name. (...) Mercier, like other
Victorian clergymen who did translating work, was drawing a salary from an agent of the crown. It was not then, nor now, allowable to trade on one's official position for outside
234:
every year thereafter. Well-known artists contributed paintings, and the
Foundling Hospital became the first picture gallery in the country. Church services at the chapel with famous preachers, famous musicians, a professional choir and organist attracted large crowds of the most well-connected
264:
Mercier was forced to resign his position at the
Foundling Hospital by the Governing Board in early 1873 after troubles arose over his supervision of the schools, and he died on Tuesday, 2 November 1875, the date his semi-annual payment of £15 to Lord Leigh was due.
711:
375:. By Captain Koldewey ... assisted by members of the scientific staff. With ... illustrations. Translated and abridged by the Rev. L. Mercier; and edited by H. W. Bates., London : Sampson Low, Marston, Low & Searle, 1874.
173:, where he was the College Latin Essayist. In 1839 he received an open scholarship from the University. He received a Third in "Greats" (Greek and Latin) receiving his B.A. on 25 June 1841, and obtained a post-graduate bursary at
289:
was sold on
Russell Street in front of the building by a sandwich man. Some of the Museum officials furnished information for the compilation of the pamphlet. Mercier apparently read this pamphlet and published his rebuttal
383:. An impartial statement, in answer to a pamphlet by Stephan Poles entitled "The Actual Condition of the British Museum", By M. A. / A., M.; Mercier, Lewis Page; Poles, Stephan; London: Spottiswoode & Co., 1875.
177:, the "Browne Exhibition", established by one Browne in 1587. Forgoing an academic but at the time necessarily celibate career, he gave up his exhibition to marry Anna Marie Hovell in 1842. He became a
519:
353:
preached ... Dec. 22, 1861, on the occasion of the death of H. R. H. the Prince
Consort. Mercier, Lewis Page; Albert, Prince Consort of Victoria, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, London,
298:
Master of Arts). Both of these pamphlets are available in
British depositary libraries. Stefan Poles died on 22 November 1875 only a few weeks after the death of Mercier.
154:, London. As a child he almost certainly spoke a species of French at home, a possible qualification for his later translations of Verne. The family was located in the
310:(The German Arctic expedition of 1869-70), as well as publishing several religious works and instructional materials for teachers of Greek and Latin listed below:
253:
In 1871, Sampson Low acquired the
English rights to several of Jules Verne's books. For this project the firm assigned the translating duties to Mercier and chose
197:(1846). and headmaster (1849). In 1857 he moved back to Hackney, becoming headmaster at the St. John's Foundation School and Assistant Reader at the Chapel of the
277:, American war correspondent, and author Stephan Poles (1847–1875) published a pamphlet denouncing in strong language the secretary and chief librarian of the
631:
807:
Modern English Biography: Containing Many Thousand Concise Memoirs of Persons who Have Died Since the Year 1850, with an Index of the Most Interesting Matter
418:
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, Or The Marvellous and Exciting Adventures of Pierre Aronnax, Conseil His Servant, and Ned Land, a Canadian Harpooner
607:
568:
239:
who lived nearby attended regularly with a reserved pew. The buildings were torn down in 1926 to make way for a fish market, which was never built.
1075:
767:, Vol. 12, No. 2, December 2005, and in expanded form in a publication of the same title, published by Choptank Press, St. Michaels, MD, 2007.
756:
Citations of the errors in Mercier's translations, and further surmises as to how they might have occurred, may be found in Norman Wolcott's
104:(9 January 1820 – 2 November 1875) is known today as the translator, along with Eleanor Elizabeth King, of three of the best-known novels of
1060:
513:
365:
Outlines of the life of the Lord Jesus Christ : with critical and expository notes, and an emendation of the common chronologies.
1080:
1070:
855:
829:
110:
805:
1085:
467:
1055:
512:
208:
The Foundling Hospital was the first public charity in England, established in 1739 by a Royal Charter granted by
1050:
508:
989:
758:
441:
209:
174:
116:
242:
In 1865 Lewis Mercier suddenly found it necessary to borrow £250 secured by a bond from Lord Leigh of
126:. To avoid a conflict of interest with his position as chaplain, Mercier wrote under the pen names of
491:
155:
243:
669:
544:
225:
181:
in 1843 and a presbyter in 1845. In 1855 he was awarded his M.A. degree from University College.
170:
712:"Correspondence of Lewis Mercier at the Shakespeare Trust, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, UK"
965:
The German Arctic Expedition of 1869-70: And Narrative of the Wreck of the "Hansa" in the Ice
373:
The German Arctic Expedition of 1869-70, and narrative of the wreck of the "Hansa" in the ice
357:"The Eucharistic Feast." A brief historical inquiry into the true nature of the Lord's Supper
143:
333:
The Principles of Christian Charity derived from the example of our Saviour and His Apostles
1065:
1045:
1040:
8:
637:
213:
151:
963:
938:
910:
882:
733:
663:
540:
The Ecclesiastical gazette, or, Monthly register of the affairs of the Church of England
538:
416:
220:, the ship captain who sponsored its establishment. Early benefactors were the painter
198:
1001:
282:
858:
The British Museum. An impartial statement, in answer to a pamphlet by Stephan Poles
321:
Selections from Æsop, Xenophon, and Anacreon, for the use of junior forms in schools
292:
The British Museum. An impartial statement, in answer to a pamphlet by Stephan Poles
1010:
230:
202:
961:
570:
A Catalogue of All Graduates in Divinity, Law, Medicine, Arts and Music 1659-1850
236:
221:
159:
147:
122:
997:
801:
367:
Rev. Lewis Mercier, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low & Searle, 1871, 1872.
278:
477:
1034:
274:
146:,) the only son of Francis Michael Jacob Mercier, Lewis Page Mercier came of
765:
Mobilis in Mobile - The Newsletter of the North American Jules Verne Society
472:
217:
247:
105:
75:
327:
The Present European Crisis viewed in its relation to Prophecy; a sermon
524:
216:. The buildings were erected on 53 acres (210,000 m) purchased by
194:
777:
Minutes of the Select Committees of the Foundling Hospital, 1864-1886
520:
Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886
190:
150:
stock; his grandfather was pastor of the French Protestant church in
1015:
832:
The actual condition of the British Museum, a literary expostulation
287:
The actual condition of the British Museum, a literary expostulation
1019:
268:
185:
142:
Born on 9 January 1820 (christened 7 February 1820, Old Church,
250:, who were in the process of printing a religious book of his.
178:
962:
Karl Koldewey; Lewis Page Mercier; Henry Walter Bates (1874).
257:
as the first volume to appear, which it did in November 1872.
880:
759:"How Lewis Mercier and Eleanor King Brought You Jules Verne"
686:
442:"How Lewis Mercier and Eleanor King Brought You Jules Verne"
403:
273:
In 1874 the Polish expatriate, revolutionary, member of the
735:
After Work: Fragments from the Workshop of an Old Publisher
991:
How Lewis Mercier and Eleanor King Brought You Jules Verne
402:, 1839, British Records Office, London, also available at
936:
779:, unpublished, London Metropolitan Archives, London, UK.
633:
Proceedings of the Glasgow Philosophical Society 1841-42
158:, home of the original silk industry of French mercers (
853:
788:
Death Certificate, British Records Office, London, U.K.
940:
Outlines of the life of the Lord Jesus Christ Vol II
810:. Netherton and Worth, For the author. p. 1571
908:
339:Considerations respecting a future state, an essay
439:
341:. Mercier, Lewis Page, 8 vo, London, Oxford, 1858
1032:
347:, etc.; Mercier, Lewis Page, 8 vo, London, 1860.
968:. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, and Searle
943:. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, and Searle
329:, etc. Mercier, Lewis Page, 8 vo, London, 1853.
796:
794:
731:
269:Affair of Stephan Poles and the British Museum
228:, who played at the opening and conducted his
573:. Oxford University Press. 1851. p. 449
317:. Mercier, Lewis Page, 12 vo, Glasgow, 1843.
791:
605:
507:
414:
351:"The Mystery of God's Providence." A sermon
323:. Mercier, Lewis Page, 12 vo, London, 1851.
248:Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, and Rivington
66:Chaplain of the Foundling Hospital, 1861-73
636:. Richard Griffin & Co., Glasgow; and
503:
501:
359:. Mercier, Lewis Page, 8 vo, London, 1868.
335:. Mercier, Lewis Page, 8 vo, London, 1855.
668:. Church House Publishing. 1868. p.
400:Registry of Births, Marriages, and Deaths
345:"The Christian and the Harvest." A sermon
235:people in London throughout the century.
701:, London: Oxford University Press, 1935.
1076:British speculative fiction translators
674:Lewis Page Mercier -Lewis Page Mercier.
556:Lewis Page Mercier -Lewis Page Mercier.
498:
1033:
881:Rev. Lewis Page Mercier, B.A. (1843).
255:Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas
111:Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas
800:
699:The History of the Foundling Hospital
685:U.K. Census, June 1861, available at
1007:Works by or about Lewis Page Mercier
523:. Oxford: Parker and Co – via
13:
14:
1097:
1061:Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford
983:
937:Rev. Lewis Mercier, M.A. (1872).
1081:21st-century British translators
1071:19th-century British translators
1023:
854:M.A. i.e. L. P. Mercier (1875).
661:, London, 1858. See for example
421:. Boston: Geo. M. Smith & Co
16:English clergyman and translator
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862:. London: Spottiswoode & Co
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697:R. H. Nicholls and F. A. Wray,
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665:Crockford's Clerical Directory
659:Crockford's Clerical directory
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543:. Charles Cox. 1839. pp.
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301:
1:
887:. Glasgow: John Smith and son
387:
137:
915:. London: William Mackintosh
294:under the pseudonym "M.A." (
7:
1022:(public domain audiobooks)
1016:Works by Lewis Page Mercier
998:Works by Lewis Page Mercier
909:Rev. L. P. Mercier (1868).
514:"Mercier, Lewis Page"
10:
1102:
1086:Translators of Jules Verne
738:. London: William Heineman
612:. Charles Cox. p. 173
609:The Ecclesiastical Gazette
440:Norman M. Wolcott (2007).
175:University College, Oxford
117:From the Earth to the Moon
884:A Manual of Greek Prosody
315:A Manual of Greek Prosody
244:Stoneleigh (Warwickshire)
184:His first posting was to
156:London Borough of Hackney
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58:BA (Oxon) 1841, M.A. 1855
54:
46:
42:2 November 1875 (aged 55)
38:
30:
23:
687:http://www.ancestry.com/
404:http://www.ancestry.com/
306:Mercier also translated
285:. The pamphlet entitled
169:In 1837 Mercier entered
128:Louis Mercier, MA (Oxon)
1056:Translators from French
732:Edward Marston (1904).
226:George Friedrich Handel
171:Trinity College, Oxford
1051:Translators to English
308:The Wreck of the Hansa
163:
912:The Eucharistic Feast
468:"LDS "Family Search""
144:Saint Pancras, London
606:Charles Cox (1843).
480:on 12 December 2008.
415:Jules Verne (1875).
925:Lewis Page Mercier.
640:. 1843. p. 176
638:Thomas Tegg, London
152:Threadneedle Street
455:business purposes.
381:The British Museum
199:Foundling Hospital
102:Lewis Page Mercier
25:Lewis Page Mercier
1002:Project Gutenberg
492:"Hackney in 1868"
283:John Winter Jones
224:and the composer
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425:25 October
388:References
201:in nearby
195:Birmingham
138:Chronology
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448:5 October
191:Edgbaston
100:Reverend
78:'s novels
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804:(1897).
91:Children
1009:at the
231:Messiah
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186:Glasgow
164:mercier
50:British
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160:French
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